Biofabricated Tissues and Organs

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an automated fabrication approach that underpins the field of biofabrication. With the ultimate goal of entirely regenerating entire damaged or diseased organs, this clinical outcome remains many decades away using biofabrication. The 3D printing techniques can, however, fabricate hierarchical tissue structures using bioresorbable materials that range from biomaterial implants to 3D cell culture scaffolds. Both of these areas have a specific focus on recapitulating the spatial arrangement of cells, their extracellular matrix, biomechanical behavior, and this influence on bioactive factors such as signaling molecules. This chapter highlights the successful clinically translated products of 3D printing to date, but casts an eye forward based on our capacity for controlling porosity, cell arrangement, patient-specificity, mechanical properties and vascularization. The translation pathways for the manufacturing of tissue engineered products from bench to bedside are then presented including examination of the regulatory landscape and their clinical impact as 3D (bio) printed materials.